Headaches and Migraines – Causes and Remedies

Headaches afflict almost everyone at some time or the other. Most headaches are functional, caused by temporary upsets and are not related to any organic changes in the brain. A headache is often nature’s warning that something is wrong somewhere in the body. The actual pain, however, arises from irritation to nerve endings in the shoulder, neck and scalp muscles and also in the smooth muscles encircling the blood vessels which serve these areas.

There are several types of headaches, with as many ways of treating them. Taking an aspirin or a tranquiliser may provide temporary relief but it does not remove the cause. Moreover, the frequent use of pain-relievers causes nervous debility, weakens the heart and bring on other complications.

Types of Headaches

The common causes of headaches are allergy, emotional reasons, eyestrain, high blood pressure, hangover, infection, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiency, tension, the presence of poisons and toxins in the body, and migraine. Allergies, an often unsuspected cause of headache, vary in different individuals. The foods to which some people are allergic and which can trigger headaches are milk and milk products, chocolates, chicken liver, alcohol and strong cheese. Sneezing and diarrhoea are further indications of an allergy.

Emotional

Intense emotion often cause headaches. Many people who outwardly appear to have a pleasant disposition may actually be simmering about a job, or may bear resentment towards a person or something. This hidden hostility may manifest itself as headache. It is important, therefore, that negative feelings should not be bottled up, but should find some safe means of expression.

Eye-Strain

Eye-strain is a common cause of headache. In such cases, an eye specialist should be consulted and proper treatment taken. Simple eye exercises such as moving the eyes up and down and from side to side, palming, rotating the head, with neck outstretched, forward and backward three times, then thrice clockwise and thrice anticlockwise, can relieve eye-strain.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can cause pounding headaches. The headache usually starts at the back of the head on getting up in the morning. A safe method of treatment for this is to immerse your legs to calf-level in a tub of hot water for 15-20 minutes. This draws the blood away from the head and down to the feet, giving relief from the headache.

Alcohol

Many people get severe headache after consuming alcohol in excess. Alcohol causes the blood vessels to swell, resulting in a painful headache. The best treatment for this is to avoid excessive consumption of alcohol. A hangover headache can be avoided by taking a vitamin B-1 (thiamine) tablet with the drink.

Infections

Headaches may occur if there is an infection, such as cold, virus and fever. Here, it is the infection that should be tackled. Vitamin C therapy is the best all-round method. For a cold, high doses of vitamin C should be taken at hourly intervals with the appearance of the first symptoms like a sore throat, runny nose etc. Vitamin C has worked miracles, and is considered a natural antibiotic.

Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar is one of the causes of irritability and headache. Sugar is not a cure for low blood sugar, though it may rise the blood sugar temporarily and make one feel better for a while. Low blood sugar is the result of an abused pancreas which overstimulates the production of insulin in the body. It can be controlled by eating smaller meals at short intervals rather than the standard three large meals daily. The intake of carbohydrates should be cut down to the minimum and coffee should be eliminated as it overstimulates the pancreas.

Iron Deficiency

A lack of iron, resulting in anaemia, is a common cause of headache. The headache sometimes appears before the onset of anaemia, due to a chronic iron deficiency. Brewer’s yeast is an excellent source of iron and anaemia can easily be prevented by taking a few teaspoons daily. Headache can also be brought on due to the deficiency of B vitamins, namely pantothenic acid, B-1 (thiamine), B-12 and B-6 (pyridoxine) and can be cured by taking these vitamins.

When taking any of the B vitamin factors separately, it is absolutely essential to add the entire B complex range to one’s diet in some form such as Brewer’s yeast, liver, wheat germ, etc., otherwise too much of one factor can throw the other factors into imbalance, resulting in other problems. Actually, the entire B complex group itself serves as protection against headaches, including migraine.

Tension

Tension headaches are probably the most common of all, and are caused by emotional conflicts which result in stress. Stress causes the muscles of the shoulder, neck and scalp to tense unconsciously. Person who are irritable, tense and lose their temper quickly usually get this type of headache. It increases gradually and passes off with the release of tension. One should try to relieve the stress which produces the headache.

Poisons and Toxins

Poisons and toxins admitted into the body through food, beverages and water, as well as through breathing polluted air, can cause number of disturbances. A headache may be the first warning that a poison has entered the body. Additives in foods and in many cases, cosmetics, skin and hair products are also serious offenders in bringing on headaches. In addition, there are toxic air contaminants which are too numerous to mention.

Migraine Headache

Migraine is an ancient and formidable malady. It bothered such distinguished persons as Caesar and Freud. It has assumed alarming proportions under modern conditions of living and is now believed to afflict about 10 percent of the world’s population.

Migraine can be defined as a paroxysmal affection, accompanied by severe headache, generally on one side of the head and associated with disorders of the digestion, the liver and the vision. It usually occurs when a person is under great mental tension or has suddenly got over that state.

Migraine is also known as “sick headache” because nausea and vomiting occasionally accompany the excruciating pain which lasts for as long as three days. Migraine usually gives warning before it strikes: black spots or a brilliant zig-zag line appear before the eyes or the patient has blurring of vision or has part of his vision blanked out. When the headache occurs, the patient may feel tingling, numbness, or weakness in an arm or leg.

Migraine sufferers have what is known as a “migrainous personality”. They are compulsive workers and perfectionists, who feel that they have to do everything right away. When they complete a task, they are suddenly let down from a state of temporary tension to a feeling of utmost relief. Then comes the migraine. It is purely physiological process. The head and the neck muscles squeeze the arteries and reduce blood flow. When a person relaxes suddenly, the constricted muscles expand, stretching the walls of the blood vessel. With every heart beat, the blood being pushed through these vessels expands them further and causes incredible pain.

Remedies against Headaches

When a headache strikes, one should stay on one’s feet in the daytime and do simple chores which do not require too much concentration, or walk, move around and get some fresh air.

The best remedy to prevent headache is to build up physical resistance through proper nutrition, exercise and constructive thinking. As a first step, the patient should undertake a short fast. During the fast, citrus fruit juices diluted with water may be taken six times daily. By taking the load off the digestion the patient will at once save nervous energy which can be utilised for more important purposes. The blood and lymph will also be relieved of a great burden. Drinking a glass of water (warm water in winter and cool water in summer) mixed with a teaspoonful of honey the first thing in the morning, is also a good remedy.

Yoga

Yogic kriyas like jalneti and kunjal, pranayamas like anulomaviloma, shitali and sitkari and asanas such as uttanpadasana, sarvangasana, paschimottanasana, halasana and shavasana are useful in the treatment of headaches.